The Fellowship of Fools
'Alignment: '''Any. '''Symbol: '''A damaged spellbook, its pages torn out. '''Disciplines: 'Fool’s Errand. '''Oath: '''The Fellowship of Fools is an exceptionally loose organization; they have few rules, mostly pertaining to behavior among other members of the tradition and the sharing of knowledge. As such, the oath sworn by adherents of the tradition varies from person to person, though it always retains one core tenet: that they will not refuse knowledge to one willing to learn. Unlike some organizations, the Fellowship has no restrictions on the joining of other groups, so long as the member stays true to their promises. '''Allegiance Benefit: '''A member of the Fellowship (or Fool)’s training includes gaining approximate knowledge of many techniques and magics. A Fool can always choose to take 10 on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks to identify maneuvers, psionic powers, and spells, even when distracted or threatened. A Fool does not lose this benefit if he violates his oath or leaves the organization, though there may be repercussions from other members. '''Description: '''As an organization, the Fellowship of Fools claims to trace its founding back to the group of masters who invented the modern form of its discipline. It is a loose collection of teachers and students; members lack authority within the organization outside of the respect that they have claimed for themselves. The central rule of the Fellowship is that anyone who wants to learn is to be allowed to learn, regardless of background, affiliation, or inclinations. Individual teachers are permitted their own rules regarding the behavior of their students (especially when it comes to political or school rivalries), but outright refusing to share knowledge with allies is an act that the Fellowship of Fools does not take kindly to. In effect, the Fellowship of Fools is less of an organization and more an interconnected collection of different schools, each sharing their wealth of techniques with each other. Individuals and schools do maintain their own bevy of secret skills and forbidden arts, but as a whole, the styles and stratagems known to a Fool tend to be known to many. Both master and disciple are expected to never stop learning, and cease training only when they are no longer able to. In addition, those who join the organization are expected to bring something new to the table; even a single idea from a prospective student is enough. As such, the styles practiced by the organizations of the Fellowship are constantly evolving, and they tend to have heavy amounts of competition among members, each racing to climb the peak of perfection. Despite their origin and symbol, the Fellowship of Fools has no qualms about accepting mages and similar beings into their ranks. However, though they have no objections to magic, they do object to arrogance—many members take great pride in their skills, and those who “cheat” to get ahead, rather than blending magic into their more physical techniques, often find themselves making dangerous rivals and enemies. '''Common Tasks: '''A member of the Fellowship of Fools is both a student and a teacher; their exact tasks depend greatly on who they have learned from or trained under, but adventuring Fools are expected to go out of their way to learn new techniques and incorporate them into their personal styles. Outside of personal obligations, the complex network of competition and rivalry between different member groups also results in occasional friendly skirmishes and small-scale “wars.” Though these tend to not end in widespread bloodshed, members are expected to take part if they are affiliated with the groups in question. Finally, though it is nearly impossible to be ejected from the organization (even by breaking one’s oath), some members are occasionally blacklisted as a result of unwarranted murder of their fellows or for malevolently misteaching students, and members in good standing might be sent to deal with them (sometimes permanently). '''Available Services: '''Owing to its lack of a true central authority, the services of the Fellowship of Fools vary greatly. A member can expect others within the organization to provide food, shelter, and knowledge, but beyond that, aid gained depends entirely on the whims and specialties of the members in question. There are no rules requiring more than a bare minimum to be given, but the Fellowship does have a complex network of favors and promises that can be tapped or entered into in order to get what one needs.